Swords Events

Domestic Violence Among Veteran Families Seminar was a Success

We’d like to thank those of you who participated in our domestic violence seminar on March 6 in San Francisco. There was a wealth of information both in the presentations and in the audience as we discussed the importance of addressing domestic violence among veteran families throughout the day.

A wide range of disciplines were represented: Criminal justice professionals, domestic violence organizations, veteran organizations, clinicians, and advocates made for a packed house and a full agenda.

Presentations included:

Starlyn Lara, Institute for Veteran Policy at Swords to Plowshares provided an overview of military/veteran culture, risk and protective factors for violence, as well as the intersection of violence with service-related mental and cognitive health issues such as post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Rachael Guerra and Elizabeth Brett presented on the Veteran Justice Outreach Program at the VA. Their presentation provided information on services for justice-involved veterans and veteran treatment courts. The Department of Veteran Affairs’ VJO program helps justice-involved veterans suffering from PTS or other mental health issues be routed to treatment diversion programs and reentry services. They work with public defenders, providers, community and veterans organizations and the courts.

Hamish Sinclair and Jocelyn Ryder, manalive/womanalive covered hands-on violence intervention strategies through a peer-led, treatment intervention perspective. The training will focus on sensible and effective strategies and skills to stop violence, as well as discuss peer-led treatment strategies for survivors of domestic violence.

Statistics Related to Veterans and Domestic Violence:

Often, learned military skills and tactics such as hyper-vigilance and rapid response to threatening encounters that enhance survival in combat may translate to aggressiveness, impulsivity, arrest, and potential for incarceration in the civilian community. (Elbogen et al, 2007)

A study of OIF/OEF veterans showed that 60% of veterans in families who were referred for a mental health evaluation at a VA center experienced Inter-personal violence (IPV) with 53.7% reporting “shouting, pushing or shoving.” (Sayers et al, 2009)

Transition phases (deployment and reintegration) cause increased stress on the family and have been linked to child mistreatment. (Sogomonyan and Cooper, 2010)